|
A series of attacks in western India this week have made sporting a moustache a symbol of caste oppression. Simply taking a selfie with facial hair has now turned into a form of online activism, with moustached users denouncing casteism under the hashtag #dalitwithmoustache. Caste politics have rarely been so live, and as Afroz Alam explains, India’s right-wing ruling party is using various strategies to woo lower-caste groups – among them constructing the idea of new universal Hindu identity which is antagonising Muslim communities.
And from the rest of our global network, read about the seven body organs you can live without and why people decide to stay in disaster-prone cities.
|
Maratha Kranti Morcha, a rallye for Marathi castes demanding respect of their rights in Mumbai last year.
Mhidanesh/Wikimedia
Afroz Alam, Maulana Azad National Urdu University
India is not able to do away with its caste politics. It has been apparent in the dramatic turn of Narendra Modi's regime to woo lower castes through multiple policy measures.
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Alban Ketelbuters, École des Hautes Études en sciences sociales (EHESS)
As Australia is debating same-sex marriage as a major civil right it is hard not to observe regression of LGBT rights in various countries.
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Brian Gerber, University of Rhode Island
Javan rhinos are among the most endangered mammals in the world: They live on one island in Indonesia, in the path of tsunamis. Saving them will ultimately require establishing additional populations.
-
Gina Yannitell Reinhardt, University of Essex
There's something in the old adage, 'there's no place like home'.
-
Mihnea Tanasescu, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Bringing back aurochs is a competitive and ambitious venture aiming at recreating wilderness in Europe. But ethical and scientific questions linger.
|
|
|
|
